Love or Die

Betrayed

When Travis opened his eyes again, it was in time to see William finishing chaining Jade to a chair. Her face seemed pale and hung low, hair falling to the side of her face. She was breathing heavily, but otherwise made no movement. Looking over the rest of her, Travis didn't see any obvious wounds and guessed that she had been dosed with silver too. William turned to find Travis watching and a smirk crossed his face as he stood straight.

            “No need to panic,” William said smugly. “Your girlfriend is fine for now. She should be waking up shortly.”

            “I don't consider my girlfriend being pumped with silver to keep her unconscious as her being fine,” Travis said through gritted teeth.

            “Well considering what I could have done to her, I would have to say she is more than fine,” William replied as he made his way to the doorway at the top of the stairs and removed his protective gloves. “Now I have to go grab a bite to eat and have a little chat with Liz, but I should be back soon. And when I do, I will explain this all to you so that you have some answers. When Jade wakes up, I advise you cherish the time you have left together.” William turned his back completely on Travis and ascended the stairs, leaving him alone with Jade still unconscious.

            Travis watched her silently for a few minutes, hoping that she would gain consciousness. When she didn't, he focused on once again trying to break free. The pull of the silver against his wrists burned, but he bit back the pain and focused on his need to be free; to get Jade away safely. He became so distracted by trying to escape that he didn't notice when Jade finally woke up.

            “Travis?” she said faintly. He looked over at her and saw her head lift up to meet his eyes.

            “Hey baby,” he said, trying to seem calm. “Have fun with the family this weekend?”

            Jade gave him a dirty look and ignored his question. “What's going on? Where are we?”

            “The first answer is I don't know. And the second is William's basement,” Travis answered, continuing to pull on his bindings.

            “William's basement? But how did...” Jade trailed off as her memory came back and she felt an echo of the burning from before. “William attacked me before, didn't he?” Travis stopped his efforts and stared at Jade, realizing that she didn't know it was Liz. He debated with himself on whether he should tell her, not wanting her to hate her friend for something she had no control over. With Jade there, the chances of Liz breaking out of her compulsion, the way he broke from Mandee's, had risen. Before Travis could speak, Jade said “Your phone battery is working fine isn't it?”

            “What?” he asked, unsure of how it was related to their situation.

            “Your phone battery,” Jade repeated. “Liz told me that the reason your phone was off was because the battery wouldn't charge. But it's fine, isn't it?” Travis could see Jade slowly working through everything and piecing together the truth that he couldn't bring himself to tell her.

            “Yes,” he answered, watching her.

            “And the Travis and Liz thing you couldn't tell me about,” she continued. “It was that she's a vampire.” It was a statement but Travis nodded anyway, hating the look of betrayal on her face.

            “Why didn't you tell me?” she asked him angrily. Jade had known that they had been keeping something from her, but that was the last thing she expected it be. It angered her that Liz wouldn't tell her right away and even more that Travis would go along with hiding it.

            “I'm sorry,” he responded. “I promised Liz I would give her some time to figure out what happened. I had no idea she had been compelled into tricking me.”

            “You still shouldn't have kept this from me,” she said.

            “I know and I'm really sorry,” Travis said. “I was going to tell you when you came back but...”

            “Look how nicely that worked out for you,” Jade replied sarcastically.

            “Really Jade?” Travis said, slightly irritated. “You really think your sarcasm is needed in this situation right now?”

            Jade sighed and looked away from Travis. “Sorry.”

            The door at the top of the stairs opened as William and Liz descended them. “No need to apologize Jade,” William said. “You did nothing wrong here.”

            Jade and Travis both looked over at them, unsure of what would happen next. Jade looked at Liz who stared down at the ground, waiting for her friend to meet her eyes. “What's a matter, Liz? Can't look at your friends after what you've done?” Jade said, silently hurt by her friend's betrayal.

            “Jade, don't,” Travis said. “She can't control herself. Not while William has her compelled.”

            “Really?” Jade challenged. “Because you managed to break out of Mandee's.”

            William's jaw tightened at the mention of her name as he stepped in front of Jade. “You should listen to your boyfriend,” he said bitterly. “Your friend truly does not have control over herself.”

            “Yeah well you should go to hell,” Jade answered back. “Because my conversation truly did not include you.”

            William smirked at her response and suddenly his hand was at her throat, tightening. Jade heard Travis' chains suddenly as he struggled to break free and attack William. She shifted in her seat, trying to escape her own chains when the silver touched on an unburned patch of skin and the sudden fiery pain made her scream. The sound came out rough and gargled under William's pressing grip.

            “Get off of her!” Travis yelled angrily.

            “Settle down, I'm not going to kill her yet,” William said over his shoulder to Travis before looking back at Jade. “I'm just admiring her beauty. I can see why you chose her over Mandee. Though I can't say I agree entirely, what with her lack of regard for her elders.” Jade glared viciously at William, causing him to laugh and drop his hold. She coughed twice and tried to breathe in air, meeting Travis' worried gaze before turning back to William.

            “How do you know about Mandee?” she asked.

            William pulled another chair over to sit across from both Jade and Travis, looking between the two as he answered. “I didn't just know about her. I knew Mandee. I was Mandee's maker.”